ANOTHER CASE OF CANNIBALISM.
The Friend gf fnctla has received intelligence from: Batavia regarding the sufferings of some of the survivors from the British ship Euxine, bound fromShields to Aden, which caught fire and was abandoned in the South Atlantic. Two boats, containing the captain and a number of the crew, reached St Helena, but the third boat, containing, the second mate and several of the men, remained for three weeks in the open sea, being ultimately sighted by a Dutch ship, but not before one of thesailors had been sacrificed to pi'ovide his suffering companions with food : • "On the 12th of June last the iron ship Euxine • sailed froii shields with, a cargo of coals and a crew of 32 meilLancN. excellent provisions. Everything went well til! the 3rd August, on which date a< storm tossed the vessel about so violently that herA cargo w£^">ehiCted to the starboard side, one man was wasft^OT overboard, and considerable damage done to th&saiis-mnd rigging. All endeavours to. right her w^re fruitless, and after large quantities of the coals had been thrown overboard traces of fire were discovered. Although every hatch and^ opening was closed as tightly as possible, the flames made such headway that on the Bth of the same month the captain decided on abandoning his ship, whose living freight left in three boats, the captain and 13 men in the long boat, the first mate and eight others in the second, and the second mate and* seven seamen in the third. It was known that St Helena was 850 miles distant, and it was determined to make for the island. During- the first night the boati dpt^manded by the second mate lost sight of the oth^rs^and at dawn was alone upon the wide ocean. IW\ little vessel was on life-boat principles, alxnit 30 feet long, her sides being pro^ tected with £j&y|rjsrark of sailcloth. She had teii> air-tight case*, t^o^ masts besides a foreboom, and carried a set of sails and necessary cordage. Theprovisions comprised two cases of biscuit, a ham, a cheese, twelve tins of meat,, and two small casks of drinking water. By the ninth day the mate came to the conclusion that he %ad been steering too far to the westward, but as the wind and sea did not admit of any change being made, it was decided to go on as heretofore, in the hope of meeting with a vessel or reaching the coast of South America. The rations were diminished to half a biscuit and a glass of water once a day, and thus the 24th August approached with no sign of rescue or land. On this day a stiff breeze sprang up as darkness grew on, and at midnight, while a man named De Jager was at the helm and the rest were asleep, the boat suddenly capsized, and its occupants suddenly found themselves struggling for their lives. How theaccident occin?re4 is not known, but it is surmise^ that De Jager his charge against the windJ as it is certain tha* he had already threatened to * knock a hole in the craft to put an end to the misery of all.' Any way, he 'put an end,' to himself and another, named Reynolds, both sinking, notwithstanding help rendered them by there morefortunate comrades, who had found safety on the upturned keel. In the morning the boat was righted^ but all\aie Jbod was gone. In order to prevent capsizingVin future the masts were cut down, and only a small sail set, so that the boat might be steered right before the wind. Hunger and thirst characterised the day — a Sunday — and 24 hour* later it was agreed that lots should be cast to sea which of the number should be sacrificed for the benefit of the remainder. Early on the same dayone, Mnller, after drinking large quantities of salt water, declared that he offered his body as food for the others, and entreated them to kill him. * After a time' — we quote from the Affidavit of James Archer, second mate — * M^nus Schutt proposed that they should cast lots who should fall as a sacrifice for keeping the others alive. To this we all consented. Having no other means to make a lottery, we hit upon using small sticks of various sizes, deciding that the one who drew the smallest should be the victim. After having made the sticks ready, I held them in my hand while the others drew. On comparing them together, I found that the Italian, Francis Shufus, held the smallest stick. Having also agreed that the lottery should be thrica repeated, and that when it should then* prove that either two or three of us had drawn the shortest stick, these should cast lots among themselves so that the victim might be signalled out, we found that the same man had for a second time picked out the same object. Francis Shufus, when his turn came for the third drawing, hesitated to join, and would not draw, upon which the man Sandstrom proposed he would do it for him. This he did, and the shortest stick was found in Sandstrbm's hand. Shufus bore it with great calmness, and showed the utmost resignation. He was left alone for some two hours, while we now and then eagerly looked round the' horizon to srae, whether a sail could be perceived or any help would come ; we stood upon the thwarts. Shufus prepared himself to meet his fate by praying and speaking in Italian. He gave us no parting message to be^sent to his friends, most probably as he hardly knew more English than Yes and No His bearing was that of a man whose mind was made up. Seeing that we were past help, and feeling that our hunger and thirst had grown beyond further enclW^nce, we saw ourselves driven to sacrifice Shufus. He laid himself down; but before that August Muller had told him that he would take his place and die for him. This Shufus refused, and laying himself down in the bottom of the boat, gave himself up to be tied ; then one man held a tin, so as to, catch in it the blood. Muller on saying that now some one must die for the others, passed the knife round the man's throat He did not struggle or scream. The blood was drunk by «s all. Muller then cut out his liver andhea-' lhese we cut into small pieces, and ate them mix with the blood and salt water. At the last mome of Shufus I was at the helm. The head ai> were thrown away, the trunk and fche limb.< put into one of the air-tight tins of our boat we had opened. We continued on our might have been two o'cloc?^ the afte* the man Shufua died. Sonifc three - 1 ship was seen, which, perceiving the " us.' This vessel turned put to be th bound for Amsterdam, and her coid
VermefiTen, who had beefa 23 aaya at, sea in an open boat and sailed fully 2000 miles."-rHome paper.
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Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 443, 20 March 1875, Page 2
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1,180ANOTHER CASE OF CANNIBALISM. Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 443, 20 March 1875, Page 2
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